Masterful trio interplay reliant on deeply honed three-way communication and a refined sense of understatement make Fred Hersch’s The Surrounding Green, his third recording for ECM, an essential entry into the piano trio canon.

Hersch tackles a handful of 20th century compositions – spanning from standards to less frequented jazz tunes – as well as three originals, with Drew Gress on bass and Joey Baron on drums.

Gress and Baron are longstanding companions of Hersch’s who have played with him on and off since the late ’80s and early ’90s respectively – in various combinations Fred was joined by the one or the other on over a dozen recordings.

This however marks their first studio recording as a trio, and their exceptional collective approach, shaped by decades of experience, can be heard (and felt) in every song.

“Joey is such a genius with dynamics that it was no problem at all for us to hear each other in the Auditorio,” notes Hersch. “And the way that Drew plays, for example on ‘Plainsong’ and ‘The Surrounding Green’, there’s so much trust in how we get through the harmony, where we pause and where we move on. I feel that on this record you really hear the history! I hope that people can feel the maturity of the interaction, the sonic world and the sensitivity at play.”

1. Plainsong
2. Law Years
3. The Surrounding Green
4. Palhaço [4:06]
5. Embraceable You
6. First Song
7. Anticipation

Recorded in May 2024, and produced by Manfred Eicher, this dutifully crafted new recording opens on the serene Plainsong and then brings us the spirited Ornette Coleman cut Law Years, the elegant title track The Surrounding Green, before the veritably pastoral Egberto Gismonti’s Palhaço is brought forth.

The masterful trio interplay continues onwards with the playfully flirtatious Gershwin brothers track Embraceable You which is in turn backed seamlessly by the reposeful late Charlie Haden cut First Song, the new set coming to an all too soon close on the quietly impassioned, Latin grooved Anticipation.

As to his approach when writing a new song, Hersch insists that he usually composes within a limit timeframe – 45 minutes, the kitchen timer keeps track. His favorite tune writers, Hersch says, “Monk, Wayne shorter, Duke or Kenny Wheeler – many of their songs don’t look like much on a page, but they have a kind of world to them. Everything Monk wrote fits on 86 pages – everything! I’m a believer in that a good tune needs no more than two essential elements – it has to be memorable, as in it has to stick. And it should be fun to play, leaving room for the player to bring in whatever they bring.”

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